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Ben Jones, Lawyer

Category: Fraud Examiner

Satisfied Customers: 1809

Experience: Lawyer with fraud examination experience

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I was involved by my aunts in a short sale transaction back

Customer Question

I was involved by my aunts in a short sale transaction back in 2011. They have asked me to buy the house from then and they will buy it back from me after 5 years. They chose the broker and the realtor for this transaction. As of the time the transaction took place, i was assured by everybody that this was legal. I trusted my aunts and just went ahead and bought the poperty. Last year 2015, my aunts wanted to take the house back from me. i asked for a share of the equity so i can have a down payment to buy my own house when i sell back the house to them. Everything started to become messy since then. They had been ganging up on me and did all kinds of harassment that you couldn't possibly think. So i ended up moving out and renting my own apartment. They have changed the lock on the house and i still had some things in the house. I ended up consulting a lawyer, my lawyer filed unlawful detainer against them. They responded back and filed fraud against me. Our case is still ongoing. All these years, i had been keeping the mortgage current and paid it from my bank account. But now, they are making claims that weren't even backed up by signed written agreement and just to be blunt, their claims are all lies.Am i gonna be punished for loan fraud because i went with this transaction?

Hello my name is ***** ***** I am the fraud expert assisting you today. If you legally purchased a home (even though it is a short sale) then you have done nothing wrong or fraudulent. If you had a mortgage that you obtained legally and made all the payments until the sale of the home back to your aunt in 2015 then again you have not done anything wrong or fraudulent.

Since you were the owner of the home during the 2011 - 2015 period, you are legally entitled to all of the equity earned during the period of ownership.

Can you please clarify as to why you feel that you have to ask your aunt (the buyer in 2015) for the equity that you earned as the owner of the house from 2011 - 2015?

Before i consulted a lawyer, i didn't understand much about real estate. I was only getting some information from friends. And also, part of our culture practices respect to elders. Which i felt obligated to seek approval from my aunts.

Customer:replied 3 months ago.

the house title and the mortgage is still in my name now, but they are the only ones living in that property. I am only renting an apartment now.